BJP leader's ‘no language called Bengali' jibe sparks outrage, leaves Trinamool fuming

The Hindu

7 hours ago

A day after a communication from the Delhi Police, describing Bangla as 'Bangladeshi language', evoked strong criticism from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Malviya's remarks on Monday that there was no language called 'Bengali' sparked further outrage in the political and social circles of West Bengal.
Mr. Malviya, who heads the BJP's IT cell and is the party's co-observer in West Bengal, justified the Delhi Police's description in a social media post.
'There is, in fact, no language called 'Bengali' that neatly covers all these variants. 'Bengali' denotes ethnicity, not linguistic uniformity. So when the Delhi Police says 'Bangladeshi language', it's shorthand for the linguistic markers used to profile illegal immigrants from Bangladesh — not a commentary on Bengali as spoken in West Bengal,' Mr. Malviya said.
The remarks left the Trinamool Congress leadership fuming, with several leaders of the party condemning them strongly. The TMC accused the BJP of 'systematically promoting xenophobia and othering, with Bengalis being deliberately targeted across states'. 'Such dangerous narratives must be condemned and resisted at every level,' the party said.
Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh equated the remarks to 'linguistic fascism'.
'The BJP is hellbent on erasing one of the richest, oldest, Constitutionally-recognised languages of India just to whitewash the Delhi Police's bigoted profiling tactics. This is linguistic fascism, plain and simple. We dare the BJP to say this on the floor of the Parliament. We dare them to erase Bengali from the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. We dare them to call Kobiguru's [Rabindranath Tagore] Jana Gana Mana a foreign song,' Mr. Ghosh said.
West Bengal Minister Shashi Panja described the BJP leader's assertions as an attempt to erase, belittle, and vilify the culture, history, and pride of Bengal.
'In his usual cocktail of arrogance, ignorance, and deep-seated hatred, @BJP4India's certified troll and keyboard mercenary @amitmalviya has now declared that 'there is no language called Bengali'. This is a calculated attempt to erase, belittle, and vilify the culture, history, and pride of Bengal,' Dr. Panja said.
'The BJP is threatened by Bengal. By its intellect. By its spine. By its refusal to bow down. And so, they try to delegitimise our language, our people, and our very existence,' she said.
Apart from leaders of the ruling party, prominent people of the State criticised the BJP leader's comments.
The controversial remarks have come at a time when the TMC has been raising its pitch in protest against the alleged targeting of migrants from the State over the past few months. The party has called for a 'language movement', and invoked Bengali asmita (identity) over such protests.
More migrants return
In another development, a group of migrant workers hailing from West Bengal's Dakshin Dinajpur district returned from Delhi. In a video shared on social media by the State's ruling party, the workers said that some men in uniform wanted money from them.
The Trinamool Congress said they were being subjected to brutal torture simply for speaking in Bangla. 'They were beaten, abused, and extorted by @DelhiPolice, which allegedly demanded bribes of ₹5-7 lakh for their release. These are Indian citizens, targeted solely for their language and identity. This is a hate-driven crackdown on the Bengali identity, enabled and emboldened by the Bangla birodhi (opposed) BJP regime,' the party posted on social media.
A few days ago, 12 youths, of whom 10 were from Pingla, and the remaining two from the Sabang police station area of Paschim Medinipur district, returned from Gujarat and alleged torture by the Gujarat Police.